Research Methodology - Dr. Krishan K. Pandey

Methods of Data Collection 99
(viii) The interviewer may catch the informant off-guard and thus may secure the most spontaneous
reactions than would be the case if mailed questionnaire is used.
(ix) The language of the interview can be adopted to the ability or educational level of the
person interviewed and as such misinterpretations concerning questions can be avoided.
(x) The interviewer can collect supplementary information about the respondent’s personal
characteristics and environment which is often of great value in interpreting results.
But there are also certain weaknesses of the interview method. Among the important weaknesses,
mention may be made of the following:
(i) It is a very expensive method, specially when large and widely spread geographical sample
is taken.
(ii) There remains the possibility of the bias of interviewer as well as that of the respondent;
there also remains the headache of supervision and control of interviewers.
(iii) Certain types of respondents such as important officials or executives or people in high
income groups may not be easily approachable under this method and to that extent the
data may prove inadequate.
(iv) This method is relatively more-time-consuming, specially when the sample is large and recalls
upon the respondents are necessary.
(v) The presence of the interviewer on the spot may over-stimulate the respondent, sometimes
even to the extent that he may give imaginary information just to make the interview
interesting.
(vi) Under the interview method the organisation required for selecting, training and supervising
the field-staff is more complex with formidable problems.
(vii) Interviewing at times may also introduce systematic errors.
(viii) Effective interview presupposes proper rapport with respondents that would facilitate free
and frank responses. This is often a very difficult requirement.
Pre-requisites and basic tenets of interviewing: For successful implementation of the interview
method, interviewers should be carefully selected, trained and briefed. They should be honest, sincere,
hardworking, impartial and must possess the technical competence and necessary practical experience.
Occasional field checks should be made to ensure that interviewers are neither cheating, nor deviating
from instructions given to them for performing their job efficiently. In addition, some provision should
also be made in advance so that appropriate action may be taken if some of the selected respondents
refuse to cooperate or are not available when an interviewer calls upon them.
In fact, interviewing is an art governed by certain scientific principles. Every effort should be
made to create friendly atmosphere of trust and confidence, so that respondents may feel at ease
while talking to and discussing with the interviewer. The interviewer must ask questions properly and
intelligently and must record the responses accurately and completely. At the same time, the interviewer
must answer legitimate question(s), if any, asked by the respondent and must clear any doubt that the
latter has. The interviewers approach must be friendly, courteous, conversational and unbiased. The
interviewer should not show surprise or disapproval of a respondent’s answer but he must keep the
direction of interview in his own hand, discouraging irrelevant conversation and must make all possible
effort to keep the respondent on the track.